Women's Basketball Edged by Suffolk, 64-60

PAXTON, Mass.—The Anna Maria College women's basketball team suffered a close 64-60 loss to the Rams of Suffolk University on Sunday afternoon in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action.

With the loss, the AMCATS fall to 6-11 overall and 1-3 in GNAC play, while the win boosts the Rams to 6-10 overall and 3-1 against league opponents.

The AMCATS were led by senior Trafficia Warburton (Worcester, Mass.), who recorded her 11^th double-double of the season with 13 points and 15 rebounds. Sophomore Christina Gauvin (Dudley, Mass.) also scored 13 points, while freshman Kristina Russo (South Windsor, Conn.) added 14 points off the bench.

The Rams were led by Iliana Quadri (Sudbury, Mass.) with a game-high 21 points, 17 of which she scored in the first half. Sophomore Kelsey Schiebel (Windham, N.H.) and junior Alessandra Quadri (Sudbury, Mass.) both added 13 points apiece. Schiebel also dished out a game-high five assists.

Suffolk broke open a 9-9 tie seven minutes into the game with a 10-2 run to take a 19-11 lead with 8:46 still to play in the first half. The AMCATS got within four following back-to-back buckets by Gauvin, but Suffolk used the remaining time to build a double-digit lead, holding a 39-28 advantage at halftime.

The Rams extended their lead by two points on the first basket of the second half, but Anna Maria would begin to chip away at their deficit in the following minutes, using a three-minute stretch to post an 8-0 run and come within five points at 41-36.

With 13:10 on the clock, Russo hit the front end of a pair of free throws to bring the AMCATS within one point at 45-44. Alexandra Nagri (Salem, N.H.) connected on a three-pointer on Suffolk's next trip down the floor, but the AMCATS fought back again and tied the score at 54-54 on a pair of free-throws by Warburton with 6:34 to play.

Anna Maria took their first lead of the game at 58-56 following a jumper by senior Katie Pryor (Whitinsville, Mass.) with 3:39 on the clock. Suffolk knotted the score at 58-58 on a jumper by Nagri and the AMCATS answered with a layup by Warburton, but a three-point basket by Schiebel at the 2:07 mark gave the lead back to Suffolk at 61-60 with 2:07 still to play.

The AMCATS missed a shot on their next possession, and with time winding down, was forced to foul. The Rams went to the line twice in the final 30 seconds and hit 3-for-4 to claim the four-point victory.

Anna Maria connected on 39 percent of their field goal attempts (23-59) over the 40 minutes, while the Rams connected on 24-of-59 attempts (40.7 percent). The Rams hit seven three-pointers to Anna Maria's five, and both teams shot 9-for-21 from the free-throw line.

The AMCATS outscored the Rams 28-22 in the paint, 15-11 on second-chance points, and 15-8 on bench points. The Rams held a 16-7 advantage in points scored off turnovers. Anna Maria also outrebounded Suffolk, 41-28.

Anna Maria returns to action on Tuesday for a 7:00 p.m. GNAC game at the University of St. Joseph. Suffolk travels to Emmanuel for a 7:00 p.m. league matchup on Thursday.